How to make Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oven

Just like pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto is my family favorite. We top our sandwiches and pastas with yummy sun-dried pesto and it adds a great zing and flavor to any meal. For an upcoming picnic, I have sun-dried tomato pesto pasta on my list and I am totally out of it. Every summers, I buy fresh tomatoes in bulk from our local farmers market and sun-dry them or simply freeze them. This year because of my travelling I didn’t get the time to visit local farmers market and I am way over due to make a fresh batch of sun-dried tomatoes.

Follow a step-by-step tutorial below on how to make sun dried tomatoes in oven?

Making sun-dried tomatoes at home is fairly easy. You don’t need any special equipment for that. Earlier, I baked the tomatoes for 8-10 hours until they were all dry and leathery. But now, I simply do half the time in the oven and rest I use a day of sunlight to make sun dried tomatoes.

RECIPE DETAIL– Two methods are displayed below on how to make sun dried tomatoes in oven?

Thickly slice the tomatoes and arrange them on greased wire rack. Remember thick tomatoes takes longer to bake/dry but makes the best sun dried tomatoes.

Make sure to keep some space in between for the hot air to circulate. Set the trays in a preheated oven and bake the tomatoes for 3-4 hours. Keep a watchful eye on them as each oven is different and they may get burned.

When they turn wrinkly and look dry, remove from oven and set them on a dry tray. Keep the tomatoes in hot sun for a full day (or until they are fully dried) and let mother nature do the rest. Depending on your weather conditions, it may take longer if the sun is not bright (maybe 2-3 days). As they dry their color deepens to a gorgeous red color and they have a leathery feel to them. Second ones were done in half a day on a hot summer day but the round ones took a full days sunlight to dry.

Right out of the oven. Needs a full day of bright sunlight to dry out!!

Final product should be completely dry with no moisture left in it. Tomatoes should feel leathery but not crispy or crunchy. Store in an airtight container and add olive oil to preserve them. It may sounds like a time consuming job, but the end result is rewarding. Your very own homemade sun-dried tomatoes made from scratch!

How to make Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oven

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Homemade sun-dried tomatoes. Making sun-dried tomatoes at home is fairly easy. Follow a step-by-step guide below.

Servings

1JAR

Servings

1JAR

How to make Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oven

Votes: 2
Rating: 4
You:

Rate this recipe!

Print Recipe

Homemade sun-dried tomatoes. Making sun-dried tomatoes at home is fairly easy. Follow a step-by-step guide below.

Servings

1JAR

Servings

1JAR

INGREDIENTS

2lbs or 450 kgs Firm tomatoes

1cupOlive oil

CHANGE SERVING SIZE: JAR

CHANGE UNITS:

METHOD

Wash and clean tomatoes. Preheat the oven @180 degree F.

Slice them thick and spread the tomatoes on a wire tray greased with oil. Make sure to keep some space in between for the hot air to circulate.

Set the trays in a preheated oven and bake the tomatoes for 3-4 hours. Keep a watchful eye on them as each oven is different and they may get burned.

At this point the tomatoes are still wet. Keep them in the hot sun for a full day or until they are fully dried. It may take longer if the sun is not bright - 2-3 days.

Other way is a messy one. For this one - remove the pulp.

Grease a baking tray and arrange tomatoes.

Bake for 1:30 hours. They will get soft and mushy but still have some flesh left. Remove from oven and arrange them on a tray.

Keep them in the hot sun for a full day or until they are fully dried. It may take longer if the sun is not bright - 2-3 days. As they dry their color deepens to a gorgeous red color and they have a leathery feel to them.

The final product should be completely dried with no moisture left. Tomatoes should feel leathery but not crispy or crunchy.